Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the purpose of the European Network of Defence-related Regions; and what part the UK plays in it.

The European Network of Defence-related Regions (ENDR) brings together regional authorities and industrial clusters with the intention of sharing information, experiences and best practices in both building dual-use strategies and accessing EU funding. The ENDR is particularly aimed at supporting small and medium sized enterprises that are working in the dual use area.

The UK Government has no official role within the ENDR but will when appropriate highlight funding opportunities to UK industry and organisations. Marine South East, the Solent-region based cluster, was recently successful in bidding and received funding from the ENDR for hosting the ENDR's second conference on 4 April in Southampton, which focused on marine and maritime-based technologies.